The commercial used truck market could be entering a period of growth as dealers begin to see more high-value trade-ins, says Chris Visser, senior analyst with the ATD/NADA Official Commercial Truck Guide.


Retail sales of used trucks in March were up 22 percent over February, Visser says in an interview on "AutoFocus" with David Hyatt, NADA's vice president of Public Affairs.

The increase is likely the result of more trade-ins entering the market, he says. "Everybody who ordered a new truck at the end of last year ... is finally taking delivery of that new truck, which is resulting in an increased number of trade-ins hitting dealer lots," he says. "So with prices high on the used-truck side and dealers finally having some inventory to sell to customers, the market could be entering a sweet spot as far as dealers are concerned."

Visser also answers questions about how rising fuel prices and supply shortages from the earthquake in Japan will affect the commercial truck market.

"it hasn't impacted it to any great extent yet," Visser says. "What we will see are some delivery constraints on new trucks, particularly on the medium-duty side."